I posted a request over in the dotmac.info forums today, so that we could find
out what the issue is with so many iblogs not showing in the recent entries.
Turns out it was the ‘ in for instance icerabbit’s blog that was not accepted.
Big thanks to August for looking into it so promptly and adjusting the code to
accept ‘. Just made a test entry, and it was properly listed as updated on thedotmac.info
homepage. Hope other people have the same success.

If your
blog now shows in dotmac.info as updated, but you don’t see your icon / image.
Double check the URL you registered. Search for your own .mac username, then
view the details of your registered page. On the right you’ll see a link to
“update this page” where you’ll have access to the URL. Also make sure the
blogname on that page, matches your blogname in iBlog.

Analog
to Apple’s “Redmond, start your photocopiers” & “Redmond, we have a problem”
ad banners at the WWDC

Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the future for
Konfabulator any brighter. While it is true that similar things have happened to
the software market in the past with built-in media players & in-house
browsers. I just think that the case of Konfabulator with it’s Widgets, is
different.

MS has such a market share that MediaPlayer & MSN
Messenger are everywhere, but people still hold on to ICQ, Yahoo and others.
When Apple bundles (an IMO half finished) iPhoto with their OS, that doesn’t
bring graphics software development to it’s knees. iPhoto fills an elementary
market. Karelia further improved Watson after Sherlock came
about.

With Dashboard, I don’t think there’s any breathing
room left. While individual scriptlets, applets & remotes have been around;
Konfabulator was a unique first-off app that really maximized the possibilities.

Dashboard is basically a Xerox copy as far as anybody can tell. Similar
technology with similar scripts that do exactly the same thing. Same idea: a few
starter widgets and anybody can build more. The only difference right now seems
to be that dashboard is an Expose feature to show all widgets at once or none at
all.

Apple, which always says their success builds on the work of
all the OS X developers, should have gone a different route IMO. Contact the
Konfabulator people. See what they can agree on. Buy the technology, license it,
… work something out. You don’t say one thing on in public and in the mean
time rob developers of their child, income and future.

Hopefully
Konfabulator can code away before 10.4 is released in 6-9-12 months from now.
One advantage for Konfabulator is that it remains compatible with older 10.x
versions where Dashboard will be a 10.4 exclusive, using brand new web-core
technology. And, on the positive side it brings more attention to Konfabulator,
but whether ultimately Dashboard is a good thing for Konfabulator remains to be
seen.

Edit: For an in-depth look at Dashboard vs. Konfabulator,
including the different technologies used and things that preceded widgets, have
a look at: John Gruber’s Daring Fireball.

Sync
Magazine, a new monthly magazine from Ziff Davis must be very eager
for people to sign up. After requesting a free trial number 2 months ago, I was
sent two bills weeks before I received an issue.

Odd. How can you judge something you haven’t seen yet? Oh, the first
issue wasn’t out till June 18.

I received their premiere issue and,
just as I thought, it’s very hip and flashy. Mostly gadgets, lots of highlights,
no depth. As instructed I returned the invoice marking it trial only. Two weeks
later, bill #3 is here. Guys, don’t push it!

The latter requires a special & pricey ($599) graphics card
available only to G5 PowerMacs. All models come with two USB 2.0 and FireWire
400 ports, a serious increase in connectivity for high-speed devices.. One
surprise: DVI replaces ADC. Everything will remain clutter free though with a
single cable that has 4 connectors for DVI, USB2, FireWire and power. The good
news about DVI is that it should allow for cheaper hardware, both monitors &
graphics cards, since ADC was unique to Apple.

All we need now, is a
replacement for the G5’s white keyboard & antiquated single button “pro”
mouse. The G4’s match it so much better. Bluetooth aluminum look keyboard &
2-button + scroll wheel anyone?

Mac OS X
10.4 code-name Tiger was introduced as well. Don’t miss the online
sneak preview. It will again have 150 new features, of which most importantly
support for 64-bit processing (it is not a native 64-bit OS version). It will be
launched the first half of 2005. Time for more feedback so they can get it
right! Better searching with SpotLight. Safari will sport an integrated RSS reader.
Unfortunately this likely means we’ll see no further updates to Safari before
Tiger. Crossing my fingers on a point release with bug-fixes.

Automater sounds really good. VoiceOver is not speech control unfortunately,
it’s a spoken version of the GUI. Something new as well will be Dashboard … wait a second. New? This is Konfabulator. Welcome to another Sherlock – Watson from
Karelia (rip-off). Why can’t Apple just buy the program or the
company? Instead it duplicates other’s hard work, then leaves the shareware
developer to fight for their survival. Tssss.

Edit: Actually Karelia
seems to have sold the Watson technology to a large
corporation which name they can’t disclose. Watson support ceases on Oct 5 2004.
Tiger?

The more I read, the more I get confused. After the Canon G5 – which was a really poor performer -
my mind is set for dSLR. Quite a bit more expensive, but that’s a given.The new Nikon D70 Outfit has really sparked my interest. Nice price-point with decent lens, instant boot, high burst rate. But, it’s Nikon, while I’ve got quite a bit of Canon “glass”. Nothing stellar, but good
performers with nice 35mm results as far as I can tell. So, (and you knew this was coming by now) Canon dSLR? The Canon 300D / Digital Rebel is too light for my taste and the Canon 10D seems a lot better, but it’s also more expensive without lens, slow boot, slower burst rate, and a 2 year old camera.
With high-end point and shoot cameras now all featuring 8MP, the dSLRs should follow shortly, likely around PhotoKina (Sep 28 – Oct 4)? But, I don’t want to wait that long as likely new models won’t ship immediately in quantity. Back to square one. [...]

Professional & personal reviews? Generally they’re both scoring very high. Generally. No camera is perfect. Lenses. They always say lenses are most important. I’m not really attached to the lenses & flash I have, though they perform pretty well and would provide a nice starting point. Lens reviews are something to turn you mad. So much details, partial reviews, opinions andany lens basically exists for any model camera (more or less).This may be the most important thing, if all else is equal: Hand fit. Which fits best? The D70 is a bit smaller, 10D is bigger. Likely I’d be better with the grip of the 10D, but I would really have to use them to know.

What I need is a 24hr test drive for both models. Let me pick up one or both cameras. I’ll familiarize myself, take some photos, review them, sleep the night, take some more the next morning, compare and then make an informed decision. Maybe I still wouldn’t be able to decide, but at least I’ll be very familiar with both.

I could order the D70 under satisfaction guarantee, and trade in for a 10D if I don’t like it, but that still doesn’t give you access to them side by side … Decisions, decisions, decisions. I’ll just have to bite the bullet.

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. Regarding todays summit in Ireland
on the morning news: According to President Bush, the majority of Europe
supports the war in Iraq, so … Huh?

Goodbye US economy?
Harbor security will go into high gear next week. Every commercial ship needs to
be equipped with a digital transponder and have a record of the last 10 ports of
call. Without either you won’t dock. And, if one of the ports on the list is not
up to snuff with new security standards, you can turn your ship around.
Initially the coast-guard will inspect every incoming ship, so expect delays.

It may sound like a good security move, but reportedly 80% of the
world’s ports are not secure. Doesn’t that sound like a recipe for trouble?
Comments on the impact made it sound like it would only hurt foreign economies
(they wouldn’t be able to unload their goods and import US goods). Hello-oh?!
Doesn’t America import anything? Parts? Retail goods? What about export? …